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The extra hour

We woke up with energy at a time that we normally slog. We went to bed a bit earlier last night than we normally would.

Daylight savings time is one of the best magic tricks out there. And like any good magic trick, there is a simple explanation yet we still pause in amazement. It’s just one hour, yet once a year it does this very interesting thing to our minds and bodies: we gain an hour of life.

So how else can we gain an hour? Can we gain an hour every day? The answer, of course, is yes.

Learn to say no when you need to.

Say yes to only the right people, customers, and projects.

Don’t watch television.

Get off social media. Or throttle it back to only a few minutes every day.

Don’t check email after 5 pm.

Change your voicemail to tell people you listen to messages once a day at 3pm, and will respond then (and if this is an emergency, please text).

Wake up a bit earlier.

Develop good evening habits.

Read a paper book at night instead of watching videos on a tablet.

Presto, you’ve gained an hour of your life every day (at the very least).

Call it life savings time.

h/t to Cal Newport and Seth Godin for consistent reminders of the power of deep work, the endless pit that social media truly is, and embracing time in the right ways.